Overbed oxygen tents



y 1963 F. J. FEGAN ETAL 3,090,382

OVERBED OXYGEN TENTS Filed April 22, 1959 :5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TORS. FRANK J. FEGAN AND y WILLIAM H. SMITH ATTORNEY May 21, 1963 F. J. FEGAN ETAL OVERBED OXYGEN TENTS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 22, 1959 INVENTORS. FRANK J. FEGAN AND BY WILLIAM Hv SMITH FIG. 8

ATTORNEY May 21, 1963 F. J. FEGAN ETAL OVERBED OXYGEN TENTS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 22, 1959 INVENTORS. FRANK J, FEGAN y WILLIAM H. SMITH FIG. IO

TO COMPARTMENT c W LINE ATTO RN EY United States Patent 3,080,382 OVERBED OXYGEN TENTS Frank Fegan and William H. Smith, Norwallr, C0nn.,

assignors, by mesne assignments, to Shampaine Industries Inc, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Filed Apr. 22, 1959, Ser. No. 808,134 5 Claims. (63. 128191) This invention relates in general to oxygen therapy equipment and, more particularly, to a portable overbed oxygen tent.

At the present time, oxygen tents are usually cumbersome and difiicult to set up in a sick-room. Many types of oxygen tents have a canopy or patient enclosure which only extends around the patients chest and head, thereby creating severe problems of marginal sealing. The sides and top can be tucked in around the mattress but the bottom edge, which lies across the patients chest, cannot be drawn down too tightly, otherwise, the patient would soon become extremely uncomfortable. Such tents, consequently, leak excessively, thereby using large amounts of oxygen and being rather diflicult to control in terms of maintaining a stable oxygen concentration. Of course, some leakage is necessary to avoid undue build-up of carbon-dioxide concentration, but even in a tent of relatively small proportions this leakage should not be great.

Comparable problems exist in reference to humidity control. Present day concepts of oxygen-therapy call for rather precise humidity control and such control cannot be efficiently maintained in an oxygen tent which has an excessive or even substantial amount of leakage. In this same connection, the fact that the lower portion of the patients body is outside of the oxygen tent subjects the patient to diverse temperature and humidity conditions which induce physical discomfort as well as contributing to the difficulty of maintaining a controlled atmosphere within the tent.

It is, therefore, one of the principal objects of the present invention to provide a portable oxygen tent which is unusually compact and can be quickly set-up over a sick bed in a very simple manner.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a portable oxygen tent having highly efiicient, self-contained dehumidification means.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a portable oxygen tent having precise temperature-control and humidity-control means.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a portable oxygen tent which can be set-up at the foot-end of a sick bed so as to occupy relatively little floor space and present minimum interference with access to the patient for nursing care.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an oxygen tent of the type stated which can envelope the entire area over the sick bed, thereby enclosing a relatively large space and, to a large extent, alleviating the patients feeling of claustrophobia.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, arrangement, and combination of parts presently described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the oxygen tent constructed in accordance with and embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the oxygen tent;

FIG. 3 is a rear elevational view of the oxygen tent;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, are sectional views taken along lines 55, 66, and 7-7, respectively, of FIG. 4;

3,899,382 Patented May 21, 1963 FIG. 8 is a side elevational View showing the oxygen tent in operative position over a hospital bed;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 9--9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10' is a fragmentary rear elevational view of the control panel forming a part of the present invention; and

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic view showing the manner in which the refrigeration system is connected to control devices.

Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention, A designates an oxygen treatment device comprising a base 1 having a rear bar 2 and a front bar 3 integrally connected in the formation of a somewhat I-shaped frame by means of a center bar 4. Swivelly mounted in the four extremities of the base 1 are casters 5. Formed integrally with and projecting upwardly from the rear bar 2 in line with the center bar 4 is a socket 6 and rigidly secured therein is a Vertical post or column 7 which is provided at its upper end with a fixed horizontal bracket 8 supporting a flat horizontal bottom wall 9' having an upstanding peripheral flange 10. Mounted upon the bottom wall 9' is a housing 11 consisting of side walls 12, 13, a rear wall 14, a front wall 15 and a top wall 16. The housing 11 is interiorly subdivided by a heavy heat-insulated partition 17, into a forward compartment or chamber a and a rear compartment or chamber c Mounted within the rear chamber c upon vibration-absorbing rubber pads 17 in upwardly spaced relation to the bottom wall 9' is a base-plate 18, the latter being relatively heavy and strong so as to function for the mechanical elements disposed within the chamber c In that portion of the area which extends across the compartment 0 both side walls 12, 13, are provided with louvered ventilation openings 19', 20, respectively, and mounted upon the base-plate 18 interiorly of and extending across the ventilation opening 20 is a condenser coil 21, the interiorly presented face of which is hooded within an air-ducting shield 22 for peripherally enclosing a fan blade 23 which is pinned or otherwise rigidly mounted upon the end of a motor shaft 24 which is, in turn, part of an electric fan-motor 25, the latter being suitably mounted upon the base-plate 18 by means of a supporting bracket 26, so that the fan will rotate concentrically within the shield 22 and produce a draft of air crosswise through the compartment c for cooling the condenser 21.

Also mounted upon the base-plate 18 is an hermetically sealed self-contained refrigerant compressor 27. This compressor is of any conventional design or construction and, therefore, is not specifically shown or described in detail herein. It is suflicient to point out that the compressor 27 is driven by an internal electric motor (not shown) having conventional electrical connection wires 28, 29, extending through and hermetically sealed in the casing of the compressor 27, as is usual practice. Also extending through and hermetically sealed in the casing of the compressor 27 are a refrigerant high pressure line 30 and a refrigerant return line 31. The refrigerant high pressure line 30 is directly connected to an auxiliary condenser-coil 32 which is soldered or otherwise attached in heat-transfer relationship upon the bottom side of a shallow pan 33 having relatively large areas and being suitably mounted between the bottom wall 9 and the baseplate 18, in more or less symmetrical location beneath a relatively large ventilation opening 34 for-med in the baseplate 18, all for purposes presently more fully appearing and as best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5.

Disposed within the lower portion of the forward compartment c and extending transversely thereacross is an air cooling chamber c having horizontally disposed top and bottom walls 35, 36, respectively, and an intermediate horizontal Wall 37. The chamber also includes two relatively narrow side walls 38, 39, which are connected at their rearward margins to rearwardly and inwardly converging vertical back walls as, 41. The latter extend inwardly toward the central portion of the compartment 0 and are connected with a vertically disposed semicylindrical wall-element 42. It should be noted in this connection that the walls 40, 41, and the wall-element 42 are securely connected to the rearwardly presented edges of the horizontal Walls 35, 36, 37, and it should also be pointed. out that all of the walls of the chamber c are preferably formed of heat insulating material or should be well insulated against heat-transmission. The intermediate wall 37 divides the chambers 6 into an upper compartment or chamber a and a lower compartment or chamber a these compartments being in communication through an opening 43. Suitably mounted in the front'wall 15 of the housing 11 for communication to the chamber c is a louvered grill work 44 and similarly mounted in the front wall 15 of the housing 11 for communication with the lower chamber c is a louvered grill work 45. Mounted, by means of a bracket 46, upon the wall 35 of the chamber c is .an electric fan-motor 47 having an vertical shaft 48 which extends rotatably through the wall 35 and is provided with a centrifugal blower element 49 which will draw air through the grill work 45 and the lower chamber c upwardly through the opening 43 and discharge it outwardly through the chamber c and the grill work 44.

Suitably mounted within the lower chamber c and extending angularly from the lower rear corner thereof upwardly toward the intermediate wall 37 is a conventional evaporator coil 5i? which is operatively connected by means of a refrigerant-line 51 to the discharge side of the condenser 21. The intake side of the condenser 21 is, in turn, connected by a refrigerant-line 52 to the discharge side of the auxiliary condenser 32. It should be noted in this connection that the evaporator coil 59 may incorporate a capillary tube or any other conventional expansion means by which the condensed refrigerant can be fediinto the evaporator coil so for the production of a cooling efiect therein. The capillary tube or other refrigerant-control means is entirely conventional and is, therefore, not shown or described in detail here- Mounted upon the wall 36 and extending interiorly across the bottom of compartment 0 beneath the lower end of the coil 50 is a condensate catch-trough 53 which drains into a short rearwardly and downwardly inclined tube 54 extending through the wall element 42 and the partition 17 for discharge into the pan 33. Thus, the water removed from the air as condensate by the coil 5i will trickle down over the surfaces of the coil 50 into the catch-trough 53 and thence flow through the tube 54 into the pan 33 from which it is evaporated by means of the heat in the auxiliary condenser coil 32. This moisture which is evaporated from the pan 33 is drawn upwardly through the opening 34 into the current of air flowing through the compartment 0 and is thereby discharged to the atmosphere.

Mounted in the rear wall 14 of the housing 11 is a control box 55 having a rearwardly exposed and accessible instrument, panel 56. The control box 55 contains a conventional on-oft switch 57, a manually adjustable control valve 58, an outwardly projecting nipple 59 for connection to an oxygen supply tank (not shown), a temperature gauge or thermometer 6i), and a manually adiustable thermostat control knob 61.

As shown in FIG. 11 the oxygen valve 58 can be set to control the flow of oxygen through the conduit 62 into the compartment 0 where it is mixed with the flow of air passing therethrough. Similarly, the thermostat 63 has a conventional sensory tube 64 which extends into the chamber 0 so that the thermostat will respond to the temperature of air passing through such chamber 0 Interposed in the refrigerant-line 51 is a solenoid valve 6'5 which is electrically connected by means of wires 66', 67, to the thermos-tat 63 for operation in response to control by the thermostat 63. The solenoid valve 65 is also connected by a refrigerant-line 68 to the inlet side of the evaporator coil 50 and by a refrigerant-line 69 to the discharge side of the evaporator coil 59. Finally, the solenoid valve 65 is connected to the refrigerant return line 31. The solenoid valve 65 is conventionally constructed so that in one position it will establish connection between the line 51, 68, and the lines -69, 31, whereby refrigerant under pressure will flow directly to the evaporator coil 59 and thence through the line-6h and the return line back to the compressor. When, however, the temperature in the compartment c drops to the lower limit of control for which the thermostat s3 is set, the thermostat will onergize the solenoid valve 65 causing it to change its position and establish connection between the line 51 and the return line 33 so that the high pressure refrigerant from the condenser 21 will flow directly to the return line and the evaporator coil 56 will thereby be ay-passed. By this means the compressor is maintained in continuous operation.

Rigidly mounted upon the upper face of the top wall 16 of the housing 11 is a flange socket ill for removably receiving the lower end of a tubular arm 71 held therein by means of a set screw 72. The arm 71 extends angularly upwardly and outwardly from the housing 11, over the hospital bed B and is provided at spaced intervals along its length with rings 73 for supported engagement with depending hanger-members 74 which integrally include laterally projecting arms 75 formed, at their outer ends, with hooks 76 for engagement with eye-members 77 secured in the upper portion of an oxygen tent T. The oxygen tent T is fabricated from a relatively thin sheet of flexible transparent material such as pliofilm, for example, and is suitably apertured in its forward wall for snug-fitting disposition around the forward end of the housing 11, being suitably held within an annular clamping ring 78. The lower margins of the tent T are tucked in around the periphery of the mattress substantially as shown in FIG. 8 so that the space over and around the bed B is, in eiiect, enclosed or compartmentalized and the atmosphere therein can be controlled by the atmosphere regulating unit A. In other words, the air enclosed within the tent T is drawn in through the grill work 45, cooled and dehumidified by passage over the evaporator coil 50, and thence returned to the interior of the tent T through the grill work 44. As the air passes through the chamber 0 after having been cooled and dehumidified, it is suitably charged with a controlled amount of oxygen in gas according to the needs of the patient.

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form, construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of the overbed oxygen tents may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of our invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An oxygen treatment device for use with a hospital bed; said oxygen treatment device comprising a base, a vertical post mounted on and projecting upwardly from the base, a bracket carried by the post, a chassis mounted on the bracket and being internally subdivided into a plurality of compartments, a refrigerant compressor mounted on the chassis and being located in the first of said plurality of compartments, a condenser mounted on the chassis and being located in the first of said plurality of compartments, an evaporator coil mounted on the chassis and being located in the second of said plurality of compartments, an auxiliary condenser mounted on the chassis and being located in the first of said plurality of compartments, said compressor, condenser, auxiliary condenser, and evaporator being operatively connected in series to form a refrigeration system, means for automatically disengaging said evaporator from said refrigeration system when the temperature of said oxygen treatment device reaches a certain minimum value, means on the chassis and disposed around the evaporator forming the third of said compartments and being divided into fourth and fifth compartments, said fourth and fifth compartments having outlet and inlet openings, respectively, a blower operatively mounted in the third compartment for circulating air from the inlet opening to the outlet opening and across the evaporator coil, means for supplying oxygen to the chamber for admixture with the air flowing therethrough, upper support means carried by the chassis and extending upwardly therefrom and outwardly over the bed, and tent-forming means carried by the upper support means for enveloping a substantial space over the bed, said tent-forming means having an opening disposed adjacent to said chassis, a portion of the chassis extending into the space over the bed through said opening for placing such enclosed space in communication with the inlet and outlet openings so that the atmosphere within such space can be controlled by the refrigeration system.

2. An oxygen treatment device for use with a hospital bed; said oxygen treatment device comprising a base, a vertical post mounted on and projecting upwardly from the base, a bracket carried by the post, a chassis mounted on the bracket and being internally subdivided into a plurality of compartments, a refrigerant compressor mounted on the chassis and being located in the first of said plurality of compartments, a condenser mounted on the chassis and being located in the first of said plurality of compartments, an evaporator coil mounted on the chassis and being located in the second of said plurality of compartments, an auxiliary condenser mounted on the chassis and being located in the first of said plurality of compartments, said compressor, condenser, auxiliary condenser, and evaporator being operatively connected in series to form a refrigeration system, means for automatically disengaging said evaporator from said refrigeration system when the temperature of said oxygen treatment device reaches a certain minimum value, means on the chassis and disposed around the evaporator forming the third of said compartments and being divided into fourth and fifth compartments, said fourth and fifth compartments having outlet and inlet openings, respectively, a blower operatively mounted in the third compartment for circu: lating air from the inlet opening to the outlet opening and across the evaporator coil, means for supplying oxygen to the chamber for admixture with the air flowing therethrough, upper support means carried by the chassis and extending upwardly therefrom and outwardly over the bed, and tent-forming means carried by the upper support means for enveloping a substantial space over the bed, said tent-forming means having an opening disposed adjacent to said chassis, a portion of the chassis extending into the space over the bed through said opening for placing such enclosed space in communication with the inlet and outlet openings so that the atmosphere within such space can be controlled by the refrigeration system.

3. An oxygen treatment device for use with a hospital bed; said oxygen treatment device comprising a base, a vertical post mounted on and projecting upwardly from the base, a bracket carried by the post, a chassis mounted on the bracket and being internally subdivided into a plurality of compartments, a refrigerant compressor mounted on the chassis and being located in the first of said plurality of compartments, a condenser mounted on the chassis and being located in the first of said plurality of compartments, an evaporator coil mounted on the chassis and being located in the second of said plurality of compartments, said compressor, condenser, and evaporator being operatively connected in series to form a refrigeration system, means for automatically disengaging said evaporator from said refrigeration system when the temperature of said oxygen treatment device reaches a certain minimum value, means on the chassis and disposed around the evaporator forming the third of said compartments and being divided into fourth and fifth compartments, said fourth and fifth compartments having outlet and inlet openings, respectively, a blower operatively mounted in the third compartment for circulating air from the inlet opening to the outlet opening and across the evaporator coil, means for supplying oxygen to the chamber for admixture with the air flowing therethrough, means for controlling the influx of oxygen to said chamber, upper support means carried by the chassis and extending upwardly therefrom and outwardly over the bed, and tent-forming means carried by the upper support means for enveloping a substantial space' over the bed, said tent-forming means having an opening disposed adjacent to said chassis, a portion of the chassis extending into the space over the bed through said opening for placing such enclosed space in communication with the inlet and outlet openings so that the atmosphere within such space can be controlled by the refrigeration system.

4. An oxygen treatment device for use with a hospital bed; said oxygen treatment device comprising a base, a vertical post mounted on and projecting upwardly from the base, a bracket carried by the post, a chassis mounted on the bracket, and being internally subdivided into a plurality of compartments, a refrigerant compressor mounted on the chasssis and being located in the first of said plurality of compartments, a condenser mounted on the chassis and being located in the first of said plurality of compartments, an evaporator coil mounted on the chassis and being located in the second of said plurality of compartments, said compressor, condenser, and evaporator being operatively connected in series to form a refrigeration system, means for automatically disengaging said evaporator from said refrigeration system when the temperature of said oxygen treatment device reaches a certain minimum value, means on the chassis and disposed around the evaporator forming the third of said compartments and being divided into fourth and fifth compartments, said fourth and fifth compartments having outlet and inlet openings, respectively, a blower operatively mounted in the third compartment for circulating air from the inlet opening to the outlet opening and across the evaporator coil, a diathermanous partition separating the chamber from the compressor and condenser, means for supplying oxygen to the chamber for admixture with the air flowing therethrough, upper support means carried by the chassis and extending upwardly therefrom and outwardly over the bed, and tent-forming means carried by the upper support means for enveloping a substantial space over the bed, said tent-forming means having an opening disposed adjacent to said chassis, a portion of the chassis extending into the space over the bed through said opening for placing such enclosed space in communication with the inlet and outlet openings so that the atmosphere within such space can be controlled by the refrigeration system.

5. An oxygen treatment device for use with a hospital bed; said oxygen treatment device comprising a base, a vertical post mounted on and projecting upwardly from said base, a bracket carried by the post, a housing mounted on said bracket, said housing being subdivided into first, second, and third internal compartments, said third compartment being subdivided into fourth and fifth compartments, the second of said internal compartments being disposed rearwardly of said first, third, fourth, and fifth compartments, said first compartment being disposed above said third compartment, said fifth compartment being disposed beneath said fourth compartment, a refrigerant compressor mounted within said second compartment, a condenser mounted within said second compartment, an evaporator coil mounted Within said fifth compartment, means operatively connecting said compressor, condenser and evaporator coil in series to form a refrigeration system, means for automatically disengaging said evaporator coilfrom said refrigeration system when the temperature of said oxygen treatment device reaches a certain minimum value, upper support means carried by the housing and extending outwardly over the bed, tent-forming means carried by the upper support means for enveloping a substantial space over the bed,

said tent-forming means having an opening disposed adjacent to said housing, a portion of the housing extending communicating with the space over the bed, air outlet 15 means mounted within said fourth compartment and comatively mounted within the third compartment for circulating air from the inlet means to the outlet means and across the evaporator coil, and means for supplying oxygen to the third compartment for admixture with the air flowing therethrough, so that the atmosphere within the space over the bed can be controlled by the refrigeration system.

References titted in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,190,613 Sittier Feb. 13, 1940 2,220,447 Hartman Nov. 5, 1940 2,315,222 Philipp Mar. 30, 1943 2,603,214 Taylor July 15, 1952 2,702,546 Gilroy Feb. 22, 1955 2,741,100 Young Apr. 10, 1956 2,852,022 Metteland Sept. 16, 1958 

1. AN OXYGEN TREATMENT DEVICE FOR USE WITH A HOSPITAL BED; SAID OXYGEN TREAMENT DEVICE COMPRISING A BASE, A VERTICAL POST MOUNTED ON AND PROJECTING UPWARDLY FROM THE BASE, A BRACKET CARRIED BY THE POST, A CHASSIS MOUNTED ON THE BRACKET AND BEING INTERNALLY SUBDIVIDED INTO A PLURALITY OF COMPARTMENTS, A REFRIGERANT COMPRESSOR MOUNTED ON THE CHASSIS AND BEING LOCATED IN THE FIRST OF SAID PLURALITY OF COMPARTMENTS, A CONDENSER MOUNTED ON THE CHASSIS AND BEING LOCATED IN THE FIRST OF SAID PLURALITY OF COMPARTMENTS, AN EVAPORATOR COIL MOUNTED ON THE CHASSIS AND BEING LOCATED IN THE SECOND OF SAID PLURALITY OF COMPARTMENTS, AN AUXILIARY CONDENSER MOUNTED ON THE CHASSIS AND BEING LOCATED IN THE FIRST OF SAID PLURALITY OF COMPARTMENTS, SAID COMPRESSOR, CONDENSER, AUXILIARY CONDENSER, AND EVAPORATOR BEING OPERATIVELY CONNECTED IN SERIES TO FORM A REFRIGERATION SYSTEM, MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY DISENGAGING SAID EVAPORATOR FROM SAID REFRIGERATION SYSTEM WHEN THE TEMPERATURE OF SAID OXYGEN TREATMENT DEVICE REACHES A CERTAIN MINIMUM VALUE, MEANS ON THE CHASSIS AND DISPOSED AROUND THE EVAPORATOR FORMING THE THIRD OF SAID COMPARTMENTS AND BEING DIVIDED INTO FOURTH AND FIFTH COMPARTMENTS, SAID FORTH AND FIFTH COMPARTMENTS HAVING OUTLET AND INLET OPENINGS, RESPECTIVELY 